You've Got to be Kidding Me
And other things I say with increasing regularity every time I leave my house
Why does it cost a cool $50 these days just to leave the house? Anyone else experiencing this fun phenomenon?
Even the things that used to be cheap and cheerful are barely meeting one of those criteria, let alone both — spoken from the place of someone who was shocked to pay nearly $8 for half a subway sandwich recently.
If outside is making your brain melt and the prices on these streets have your blood boiling – I’m here with you and for you. Onwards for some suggestions that can hopefully improve the overall vibes – we’re here to make « living in interesting times » feel more palatable.
Library
Even as someone who was literally on a library foundation committee, it can be easy to forget all of the great things that a library card can offer us. So I figured I’d take this moment to remind myself and interested readers. As the song goes, “having fun isn’t hard, when you have a library card”.
As a certified book hoarder (Collector…? Appreciator…?), who had to have a come to Jesus moment that maybe I don’t need to buy every book that seems interesting (being gainfully unemployed comes with many a reality check), I’ve been turning to the library more often. As much as a tangible book in hand will always be my favourite reading method, I’ve been recently reminded that the Libby app exists. With Libby, you get access to ebooks and audiobooks for free – all you need is your library card. I’ve been appreciating Libby as a great way to borrow a whole bunch of books!
Extra upside, if you manage to get time for a little out of town break, you now have extra room in your luggage, what with all the books you don’t have to pack.
Note: if you think the library is only for books, well you’d be incorrect my friend! The library also has events and classes where you can pick up a new hobby or skill, you can rent equipment or book studio time , get passes to other Toronto cultural and entertainment institutions, and so much more. Support the local institutions!
Flyers
Do NOT allow their (the man and/or large corporations) trickery to work on you. For as long as my cognizant memory goes back, we were a family that followed sales. Checking the weekly flyers that landed in our mailbox to determine what we were stocking up on, and perhaps what could be the star of a few meals that week. While I’m sure plenty of that was necessity based (our parents were right: money apparently doesn’t grow on trees), it was also the principle of the matter – why would I pay a ridiculous price for this item when I can either wait the store out, or go to a store that would offer me the same thing at a palatable price point.
You might be familiar with this article that went out comparing the cost of groceries in a flyer circa 2020 with the prices we were facing in 2024. And now I try not to have a conniption every time I see the price of olive oil or my favourite brand of cream. That’s where flyers come in. I watch and see what’s put on discount – then, I’m ready and prepared to pounce and stock up when the stores come to their senses and sell items at a reasonable price. When you pay attention to the items they sell, and the prices on offer, you carve out a bit of extra power for yourself in this market aisles. Lemme tell you, catching on to shrinkflation shenanigans, getting a great deal, or stocking up on your favourites at a price point that works for you is a thrill!
Travel Saving
As they say in nearly every area of life, consistency matters. Doing something with regularity will make a larger difference to your life in the long run. If, like me, this is one of those things that you know in theory to be true, but still find it difficult (oh so very difficult) to apply in all the areas that you know require a sprinkling of self-discipline, I raise my glass to you. BUT! WAIT! There’s one area that I managed to apply a steady growth to and it was saving for vacation. Perhaps it was the lure that consistency would help me take a break from the day-to-day that was the specific thrill that made the action easier. But that’s a discussion for another time.
Knowing that travel was something I wanted to do more of when I got a full-time job, when I spoke to a financial advisor shortly after signing a full-time contract, I set up a savings account specifically geared to travel.
A travel blogger I know of shared how she saved for trips and I’ve used the method up to as recently as last year to pay for my trips. In the link she has a breakdown template for saving over 26 weeks and one for 52 weeks. What I like about it is the increments start off small so it doesn’t feel like much money to move to the account I’d already created. You then get to see it grow over time, and depending on your bank of choice, they may have periods of increasing your interest allowing your savings and each additional deposit to get a little boost. It’s nice to have that money squared away, like a little gift from your past self. Now when you go to pay off that plane ticket, hotel, or when the post-trip bill comes in, you can rest easy knowing that you’ve already put money aside to cover it. Last year, the money that I’d saved (granted boosted by the fact that in the peak of Covid I wasn’t doing much booping and bopping internationally) I was able to pay in full for a trip to three countries.
Toronto Outdoor Picture Show
For free99 if you’re in Toronto you get to sit outside in a park, with friends or at least surrounded by a community of fellow art enthusiasts (support Toronto arts and culture!), and watch a movie.
For those not in the know, the Toronto Outdoor Picture Show runs in the summer in four Toronto parks: Christie Pits, Fort York, Corktown Common, and Bell Manor Park. They have themes that they center their movie picks around, and once you’ve chosen a park of your liking, you can settle in, wait for the sun to set and check out a new movie or a familiar favourite. Charity donations allow TOPS to make their events completely free to enter, so all you have to worry about is getting there early enough to park your blanket or chair in an ideal watching spot.
If you’re interested in checking it out, the full calendar of TOPS 2024 showings can be found here.
Maybe I’ll see you there!
Have any other tips for saving money or doing fun things on a shoestring budget? Drop it in the comments!
YES LIBBY! I’ve saved so much over the years